


The Lucky One

by Baekbitficfest, soybean_88



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Wizards, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 18:11:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10859337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baekbitficfest/pseuds/Baekbitficfest, https://archiveofourown.org/users/soybean_88/pseuds/soybean_88
Summary: Baekhyun has been unlucky his entire life. He's not sure why, but it may have something to do with being accidentally cursed as a baby (in fact he wasn't cursed, but itdoesmake all his misfortunes seem more legitimate). Then he meets Yifan, and his life magically begins to turn around.





	The Lucky One

**Author's Note:**

> Please be sure to leave the writer some lovely comments!  
> Thank you for reading <3

_Prompt #: 54_  
_Title: The Lucky One_  
_Pairing: Baekhyun/Yifan_  
_Rating: PG-13_  
_Summary: Baekhyun has been unlucky his entire life. He's not sure why, but it may have something to do with being accidentally cursed as a baby (in fact he wasn't cursed, but it does make all his misfortunes seem more legitimate). Then he meets Yifan, and his life magically begins to turn around._  
_Word Count: 8052_  
_Warnings: None_  
_Author's Note: This story was written mostly while I was doing some... intense training for my work. I think that's why it became more candy than I would normally write - I needed the escape. As always, thank you to my forever-beta, A._

 

 

Baekhyun drew his quilt further up under his chin and stared up at the wooden beams that ran the length of the ceiling. February at East Sea Academy meant the unwelcome presence of cold draughts that seemed to constantly permeate the traditional hanok-style sleeping quarters. Lights out had been announced not long ago, and though senior student Minseok was already snoring to his left and junior student Jongin was whispering something about the potency of flowers to his right, Baekhyun didn't feel at all relaxed or sleepy. Light was _important_ to him, and the absence of light made him feel uneasy.

"Baekhyun hyung?"

At the sound of Jongin's whispered voice Baekhyun turned his head slightly.

"Yes, Jongin?" He replied quietly.

"Leaves of flowering plants are more potent than the flowers themselves, right?"

Baekhyun blinked in the darkness, considering the question.

"Yes, leaves are more potent than flowers, and stems are more potent than leaves.”

"Ah, of course." Jongin whispered, sounding relieved. "You know, when I was young my mum told us about the time she found a rose in the snow, and it..." Jongin stopped abruptly as Minseok let out a long, deep sigh and rolled over. Neither boy dared to speak for a whole minute. Then two minutes passed in silence. Baekhyun considered the possibility that Jongin had gone to sleep, and he had almost resolved to get over his own restlessness and make a real attempt at sleep too, when out of the darkness the whispering started again.

"Baekhyun hyung?"

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, smiling despite himself. He mumbled indistinctly to show he was listening.

"What do you think the Gong Ming students will be like?"

"Good at wand magic and useless of healing."

Jongin's laughter was muffled almost immediately (most likely by him burying his face in his pillow). Baekhyun knew what he had just said was a stereotype - Chinese schools were known to be more open to teaching Western-origin Wand Magic, whereas the boys' school in Korea focused on working with and harnessing the magic already present in nature. Neither Baekhyun nor Jongin had had much experience with Chinese magical theory or had even met a Chinese wizard, but their counterparts from across the sea would be arriving the next day, and all rumours of their skills (or lack thereof) would be ultimately be revealed.

"I hope they're nice," Jongin said, simply. "It would be good to learn from each other. Develop new strengths and strengthen our weaknesses."

Baekhyun was about to reply, when to his left Minseok let out a high-pitched squeal and two long whines. The sounds echoed around the paper-paneled room before eventually being absorbed by the night. Baekhyun rustled his sheets and rolled over, and he heard Jongin do the same (neither of them was willing to disturb the sleep of their senior) and as he pulled the quilt completely over his head, Baekhyun wondered whether he was _lucky_ his roommate was such a heavy sleeper, or _unlucky_ that he had a roommate that studied Advanced Eastern Mermish.

...

The next morning dawned bright and cold, but a glance out the window had Jongin commenting disappointedly that it wasn't cold enough overnight for snow to fall. Baekhyun took his time with his uniform - a white undershirt, a white long-sleeve shirt, grey drawstring trousers, and then heavy white robes over the top. Finally, the knot of the rope belt had to be tied _just so_. Dressing everyday in the old-fashioned clothes was one of the few esoteric traditions of the East Sea Academy that he had become used to. Two years into his studies and two years away from graduation left him in an unenviable position of having to start caring about those things he wasn't interested in, and about gaining the respect of people who had so far made it plain they had no respect for him.

"Baekhyun, are you ready?" Minseok stood at the doorway, looking more like a professor than a student, with three string-bound volumes under one arm and a sleepy Jongin standing at his left.

"Yes, hyung." Baekhyun replied, soberly, tucking his calligraphy brushes into his jacket pocket. Jongin turned to open the door and the three boys slipped delicately clothed feet into grey-leather boots before walking down the path that lead to the Entrance Gate. Along the way they were joined by students from the surrounding sleeping quarters, each one that emerged looking slightly sleepier than the last.

At the Entrance Gate the students lined up along either side of the central path, and just as the last teacher took their place at the end of the line, a loud booming sound made the gravel quiver below their feet. Three loud sounds, like a giant knocking on the outside of the closed Entrance Gates, was followed by the emergence of a large wooden scroll floating in the air above. The scroll unfurled to reveal the identity of the visitors in perfectly-spaced black letters - Gong Ming School of Magic.

Baekhyun knew what he was supposed to do: stand still. Look straight ahead. Not move. But this was one of those times where natural human curiosity overrode arbitrary rules. His knew that even an incline of the head or a twitch of the wrist would invoke his _unluckiness_ , and he would get caught (and punished) by a teacher. A momentary lapse in self-discipline was all it took however, and before he realised what he was doing, Baekhyun had turned his head to look at the foreigners entering the school grounds.

In the seconds it took the visitors to walk by, Baekhyun was awe-struck. One very old, very wizened teacher led the procession, his walking stick making a distinctive clack with each step. Behind him followed the students, ten of them, but at a glance they could easily have been mistaken for royalty. All ten wore long overcoats made of different coloured silks, with stiff, high fur-lined collars. The first three students wore red coats embellished with dragon motifs in black and gold thread. The second three wore purple, and the three that followed three wore deep forest green. But it was the last student that really caught Baekhyun's attention.

He was by far the tallest in the procession, with one of his strides equivalent to the average person's two. His dark hair and thick eyebrows contrasted starkly with his heavy white coat, and as he walked past, Baekhyun noted the elaborate embroidery - clouds in silver and cranes in gold. Were these all these boys _really_ students like them?

Baekhyun suddenly felt an immediate pain in his left foot - his classmate Jongdae had tried to snap him out of his reverie. But it was too little too late, and the last thing Baekhyun saw before he snapped his head back to the front was the glare of his least favourite teacher, the short, mean Characters teacher, Mr Lee.

Baekhyun hardly heard the welcome speech given by the principal or the reply speech given by the Chinese headmaster (to be fair, most of the students were very obviously preoccupied with the upcoming breakfast more so than the ceremony) and when everyone was allowed to escape the cold and enter the dining hall, the relief was palpable.

"Baekhyun, could you have been any more obvious?" Jongdae said as they filed into their seats.

"It's not my fault. It's the curse. Anytime I make the tiniest mistake, I will absolutely get caught for it. I don't even try to fight it anymore," he explained, shoveling spoonful’s of rice into his mouth.

Though Baekhyun's magical education had now taught him that curses wear off and that one cannot be cursed for life - except for certain Dark Magic in which one gives oneself a cursed life - he _did_ happen to get in trouble rather more often than his fellow students.

"You're not cursed, you just have abysmal self-control," Jongdae pointed out. "And you don't make it easy for yourself, like pointing out in class the other day how Mr Lee was writing a character wrong..."

"But it _was_ wrong. He wrote it in the simplified Chinese way, not the traditional Chinese way. Yes, so the spell was bound to work, but it was just weaker than it should have been."

"How do you even know so many characters?" Jongdae asked, exasperated.

Baekhyun smirked in reply.

"Byun Baekhyun," a thin, whiny voice called, and Baekhyun spun around in his chair. His eyes met those of Mr Lee, and a grain of rice inadvertently fell from his lips into his lap.

"Byun Baekhyun," he said, again. "Yesterday you were given strict instructions on how to line up for the welcoming this morning. None of those instructions mentioned gawking at our visitors."

"Sorry, sir." Baekhyun mumbled.

"You are here representing the school and your family." Here, Mr Lee paused, staring down the student. Baekhyun was very quickly getting tired of the scolding, but he managed to stay calm.

"I _am_ sorry, sir," he said, willing his anger not to show.

"You will show your remorse by volunteering to clean all the brushes in the calligraphy room for the next three nights. By hand."

As Mr Lee walked back to the teacher's table, Jongdae poked his tongue out in his direction and muttered some very unsavoury words.

"It's the curse," Baekhyun muttered, his blood pressure slowly returning to normal.

"It's school," Jongdae countered. "Anyway, there are more immediate questions to be answered this morning, specifically, what _is_ up with the uniforms of the Chinese students? Do you think they'll wear those ridiculous coats to every class?"

\---

In fact, as they learned later that day through the grapevine, the Chinese boys wore the colours of their clans - with four clans being represented by the students on the two-week study tour. When Baekhyun returned from his detention that night, nursing two sore arms and a bruised ego, Jongin played the good junior and massaged Baekhyun's limbs while relaying the details of his day. The younger had had two Chinese students in his Fortunes class, but they had changed into plain black robes, and Jongin had been unable to remember which clan they were from.

"Was either of them, kind of, quite tall?" Baekhyun asked in the most casual tone of voice he could muster.

"Uh, one was tall and one was medium height," Jongin replied, unphased. "The tall one was called Zitao and even though his Korean wasn't great, his practical work was spot on. We just had to do small predictions - like, _How long will it take for the fire to burn out?_ or _If I shake this flower, how many petals will fall?_ \- and he got every one right."

"Impressive," Baekhyun commented quietly, and while he listened patiently to the rest of Jongin's story, he would have been more absorbed if the younger could have positively identified this 'Zitao' as the student in the white coat.

The next day Baekhyun and Jongdae were on their way to Magical Law and Ethics, trailing behind a large group of classmates who were gossiping about the upcoming Nogong exhibition game: East Sea vs Gong Ming. Neither Baekhyun or Jongdae were particularly interested in Nogong - the international wizarding sport played on broomsticks - and were instead each munching on a bar of chocolate in the hopes that the sugar would help keep them awake through their long theory class. Jongdae was just folding up the chocolate wrappers and hiding them carefully in the back cover of his book when he walked into the back of Baekhyun, almost dropping the evidence of their snack.

"Hey! Why did you stop so suddenly?" Jongdae said, rearranging his books in his arms.

"Aww, little one. Did you fall out of the nest?" Baekhyun picked up the baby bird from the cold concrete path and held it warmly in his cupped hands. "Wait! Are there two of you?"

Baekhyun listened hard for the other tweets he was sure he could hear coming from the base of the tree, but he couldn't entirely block out Jongdae's protests about being late for class.

"Baekhyun, we have to go. You've already got detentions with Lee to do this week, so don't risk..."

"It's okay, just go on. These birds have had more bad luck than me. I'll catch you up. Go," Baekhyun insisted. He heard Jongdae sighing, and then quickly retreating footsteps, but Baekhyun focused on finding the source of the distressed noise. At the base of the tree, tangled in the thick green leaves of a shrub, he found a second baby bird. Scooping them up, he warned them about being too ambitious too early.

"Listen to your parents, and learn to fly before you attempt any more adventures, okay? I'm sure your nest is a much warmer place than the stone pathways of this old school." The birds gave no indication that they would heed his advice, except to continue chirping loudly. Baekhyun craned his neck, and a few branches above he spotted the nest. Taking out his second-hand wand (and hoping it wouldn't fail him or his rescues) Baekhyun muttered a spell to guide the birds out of his hand, through the gaps in the branches and back into their home. When the two were sitting safely in the nest, Baekhyun waved them goodbye and ran down the path alone to his next class.

"Byun Baekhyun. Care to explain why you are three and a half minutes late to my class?" The Ethics teacher Professor Jeong did not turn around from where he was writing class details on the board. Baekhyun stood still just inside the room, his hand still on the iron door handle.

"I'm sorry, sir. I found a creature - well, two creatures - in distress on the way to class, and I thought that I had an ethical obligation to help."

"You also have an obligation to be in class on time." Professor Jeong said, putting down his chalk piece and taking out his wand. Baekhyun tried not to show how nervous he was - he'd always found the Ethics teacher to be the most understanding of all his instructors, but it was clear that his tardiness meant he'd crossed a line.

"Memory. Now."

Baekhyun obediently bent his head and allowed Professor Jeong to take a copy of the memory, and as the wand drew away from his temple a long, golden strand of ribbon printed with scenes of what happened followed in its wake. Baekhyun waited, fidgeting with the sleeves of his robes while the professor read it, scene by scene, as one might look at the images on a roll of undeveloped film. His eyes flicked from the memory back to Baekhyun's worried expression.

"You need to replace that wand, Baekhyun. You only had to guide those baby starlings two metres up into the tree, and that spell was shakier than it should have been." Out of the corner of his eye Baekhyun saw the students in the front row whip their heads around, but he endeavored to focus his attention on the teacher.

"Yes, sir."

Baekhyun crossed his fingers and his toes, hoping against hope that he wouldn't be punished.

"It is apparent," Professor Jeong began, "that you displayed strong ethical judgement today. But I advise that you do _not_ make a habit of prioritizing your hero duties over your education. Clear?"

"Understood, sir."

The sound of muffled laughter quickly died down under the withering gaze of Professor Jeong, and Baekhyun moved towards his usual seat, passing two boys in the front row wearing black robes.

Past the tall boy who had arrived wearing a white coat with gold cranes and silver clouds.

\---

"Excuse me."

At the sound of an unfamiliar voice, Baekhyun's focus was diverted from his simple dinner to the two Chinese boys that were suddenly standing behind him. The same boys from his Ethics class.

"My name is Yixing, and this is Yifan," the shorter of the two said by way of an introduction. "We wanted to ask about the birds. The teacher said you saved some birds before class, right? Are they okay?" Yixing talked quickly and looked very worried.

"Err, yes. Yes, they were fine." Baekhyun reassured him. "They didn't fall far. I just didn't want them to suffer exposure from the cold, so I put them back in the nest."

"That's a relief." Yixing said, flopping down into the empty space next to Baekhyun. "Oh, is that kimchi? I've always wanted to try kimchi. May I? Please?"

"Um, sure." Baekhyun handed him a clean pair of chopsticks from the wooden box on the table. While Yixing picked at the side dishes on Baekhyun's dinner tray, Baekhyun glanced up at the tall boy who was now standing _very_ close. He smiled politely, but his friendliness only earned him an intimidating glare.

"Yifan was worried too." Yixing said, having eaten all the kimchi and half of Baekhyun's grilled fish. "He likes things that fly." Baekhyun nodded, not really believing that this guy (who looked even taller and broader in his long black robes) had a soft spot for baby birds. He tried to think of something interesting to say.

"You two aren't from the same clan." It came out far more blunt than he'd intended, but neither of the two seemed to take offence.

"Nope. My family name is Zhang and we're from the middle of China, but Yifan here is from further south. There's a few magic schools in China, but ours is the oldest."

"And the warmest." Yifan muttered.

"Oh, you're not used to the cold? It's February now, so it is cold - even for us. But the winter sunrises are really beautiful. Well, if you're up that early and it isn't cloudy they are." Baekhyun noticed that Yixing had eaten most of his dinner by this point, but the new topic of conversation distracted him.

"Yifan plays Naigong... I mean, Nogong, so he wakes up early for practice. But I prefer my sleep." Yixing said, draining the bowl of soup on the tray.

"Xing. The food." Yifan said, quietly.

"Oh! Oh I'm so sorry. Your dinner was just so delicious and _much_ spicier and tastier than ours. I'll make it up to you. Somehow."

"No, no. It's fine." Baekhyun said, smiling. "I eat this kind of meal every day. And you're guests of the school."

Yixing scrambled to his feet and thanked Baekhyun again for his kindness with sharing his food, and his compassion for helping the birds. Yifan bowed his head in a more formal farewell.

"I'm sure we will have more classes together." Yixing said, cheerfully. "See you then!"

The two walked away from the table and out into the chilly evening air. Two seats down Minseok shut the book he had been reading and immediately moved to swap his full soup bowl with Baekhyun's empty one.

"They're very friendly, aren't they? I met a student called Lu Han in Mermish. He could _probably_ talk under water - even without language training."

Baekhyun gratefully accepted the soup, but as he ate his thoughts fell back to focus on the taller and quieter of the pair. Maybe going to the Nogong exhibition game on the weekend wouldn't be as boring as he initially thought.

\---

On Thursday Baekhyun arrived on time for his Wand Magic class, and taking his usual seat at the back of the room (his wand's unreliability meant his position in class was really to ensure the safety of others), he was surprised to see another student walking down the aisle and only stopping when he arrived at the final row.

"May I sit here?" Yifan spoke slowly and pointed at the seat across the aisle.

"You may," Baekhyun replied. "But my wand work isn't great, so you might have to help me put out a fire or two during class."

Yifan blinked, and Baekhyun could almost see the cogs in his brain turning under his shiny black hair. Then, he sat down.

The first half of the lesson passed without incident as their teacher instructed the class on the theory of turning inanimate objects into animate beings. Baekhyun paid close attention, and as complicated as he found it, he wondered if Yifan was following it all, given that the class was not in his native language.

Then it came time for the practical exercise - turning rocks into fish.

"I guess I'll be flooding the room, as opposed to setting it on fire today," he said to no one in particular as he stood up and dropped the rock on his table into the prepared glass of water. Next to him Yifan stayed silent, but followed suit and dropped his rock into the other glass.

Baekhyun took a deep breath, pointed his wand at the rock and spoke the words he'd been taught. But the spell was weak, and the sparks emitted from his wand bounced off the water glass and dented the wooden desktop. Several students turned around at the noise and snorted at his mistake. Baekhyun poked his tongue out at them, then focused on the rock again.

"You... don't really like this spell, do you?" Yifan was still sitting down when he spoke, his hands folded and his wand lying across his lap.

"You don't need to _like_ a spell in order to perform it properly," Baekhyun retorted.

"No, I mean... I just think that's why the spell bounced at its first obstacle. But I mean..." Yifan seemed angry with himself, and muttered something in Chinese under his breath. Baekhyun wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but with this class, and this new kind of complex spell, and with his wand being as temperamental as it was, he was finding it hard to stay calm.

The two boys worked independently for a time, each checking his notes before trying the spell, and each time trying to adjust their technique. After ten minutes Yifan had managed to turn his rock into an exceptionally shiny silver goldfish, and he was preparing to transform his second rock. Baekhyun was still having trouble.

"Is it the wand?" Yifan asked in a careful tone.

"I think..." Baekhyun pushed the palms of his hands into his eyes, frustrated that the spell wasn't working. "It think its the wand. But it's also what you said before. I don't want this spell to work because it's not natural."

"Magic isn't natural?" Yifan questioned.

"No, _this_ isn't natural. We are creating life where there was none before. We are not just adapting and harnessing the nature that's there, we are playing god by making nature."

Yifan looked at his fish, then down at his wand, and Baekhyun realised how naive and old-fashioned he must have sounded.

"Sorry, forget it. It _is_ the wand. I just needed one for this course, so I'm borrowing my brother's old wand." Baekhyun watched Yifan carefully for any sign of judgement, but the taller simply nodded, his glance shifting between his own wand and Baekhyun's.

"Like you said, you just need to do the spell to get a pass. I'm guessing you find classes like Healing more interesting than this, right?"

Baekhyun smiled, his first genuine smile all class, and began to explain to Yifan about his latest success in Healing (their topic had been Veterinary Healing). Yifan listened patiently, his eyes never leaving Baekhyun's, making small nods to show he was following. The conversation led them back around to their current task, and by the end of the lesson, working together, they managed to produce one orange and one almost-orange goldfish.

\---

The chilly weather didn't relent, and for the next two days Baekhyun ran from class to class with his head bowed against the blustery winds. He spent Saturday in the library with Jongdae revising magical theory and star charts, fully occupied with preparing for next week's assessments and seeing neither hide nor hair of Yixing or Yifan. Upon returning to his room Saturday evening he was stepping out of his shoes when the door opened. Jongin met him with a long, unrolled scroll and a quilt.

"Hyung. Can you read this over, please? It's for Characters and I think some of the stroke orders might be wrong..."

Baekhyun usually had all the time in the world for his roommate, but the pressure and stress of study was weighing heavily on his shoulders.

"Jongin, I've had a really long day. A long week, actually. What about asking Minseok hyung?"

"He's busy."

Baekhyun stared at the quilt and Jongin's shivering, and put two and two together.

"He's practicing temperature control again, isn't he?"

Jongin nodded vigorously.

"He's making the room go from 30° to 20°, then to -20, and back again."

"What did he promise you in return for using the room?"

"Hot kimchi pancakes while watching the Nogong game tomorrow. Hot food _all_ game."

Baekhyun glared at the closed door, glad that he wasn't telepathic and therefore that Minseok couldn't hear all the things he was thinking.

"Well, it looks like he'll be buying food for me too." Baekhyun said matter-of-factly as he took the essay and sat down on the step. Jongin smiled and draped the quilt around their shoulders.

Twenty minutes later Minseok opened the door, thanking them both for letting him do his last minute practice. Jongin stood immediately and bounded inside to warm up. Minseok took a few steps out onto the veranda and stared up at the stars, looking very pensive.

"You okay, hyung?" Baekhyun asked as he stood up.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about things." He leaned against one of the carved wooden posts. "Life after school. The big wide world. Those kinds of things."

"Hyung, you're brilliant. You work hard, and you come from a good family. Life after school will be easy for you."

Minseok nodded, more to recognise what Baekhyun had said rather than in agreement.

"Me, on the other hand," Baekhyun said as he took the quilt off his shoulder and gave it to Minseok. "I'm going to take what I've learned and get out of here. I don't want my bad luck to affect my mum and brother."

Minseok raised one eyebrow skeptically.

"You still think you're cursed?"

"Just in that I make bad luck for myself and the people around me. But if I live out in China or Vietnam or somewhere far away, just doing research for the family apothecary, it won't affect people so much."

Minseok didn't reply immediately, and turned his attention back to the stars. The silence allowed Baekhyun to review what he'd just said - the future career that he's begrudgingly chosen for himself. In truth, he hated the idea of having to live on his own. He loved being around people, loved learning from them and sharing new experiences with them. But his bad luck had become so real and so obvious over the years that he saw no other option, and he had no reason to believe that his bad luck would end any time soon.

As if he _was_ telepathic, Minseok nudged Baekhyun and smiled.

"You may think you're cursed, but you're like god-sent Angel of Study to young Jongin. And, well, who knows what the future holds?"

\---

"Li passes to Han. Han flies down the pitch. Dodges once, twice. MISSES! The shot is saved by East Sea's Keeper Kim!"

Jongin whooped excitedly and Baekhyun clapped with one hand against his other wrist (he was holding hoddeok - a sweet cinnamon pancake - and didn't want it to end up on either his clothes or on the concrete). Twenty minutes into the Nogong game and Baekhyun was decidedly more interested in his snack than what was happening up in the air. When the teams had first stepped out onto the pitch the commentator had listed all the players, and a few familiar names were called. Yixing was Seeker, Zitao and Lu Han were Chasers, and one Wu Yifan was Keeper.

Jongdae had tagged along to take advantage of Minseok's generosity and sat on the other side of Baekhyun. Whenever Minseok or Jongin stood up in their seats over a goal or an impressive intercept, Jongdae would too, but just a fraction too late and just a little over-enthusiastically. When East Sea scored their third goal and Jongdae put his hands up and cheered, Baekhyun couldn't help but poke him in the ribs.

"You were 'wide open'," Baekhyun said, using his fingers to make quotation marks in the air. Jongdae glared at him and sat down, muttering something under his breath about Baekhyun being _lamer than twenty lame things_ and Baekhyun's sideways glance across the pitch at Gong Ming's dispirited-looking Keeper went unnoticed.

Jongdae reached across to swipe two steamed buns from Jongin's lap and, handing one to Baekhyun, said, "I'm just trying to get into the game." He talked slowly, as if explaining the situation to a child. "You could show a little enthusiasm too, or are you too cool for a little school spirit?"

Baekhyun leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs with a nonchalant air.

"Yep, I'm here for the free food and nothing more."

At that moment the crowd began to stand. Baekhyun turned to watch an East Sea player streaking down the pitch, with only Yifan between him and the goals. The chance of a fourth goal seemed high, but as the ball left the Chaser's hands Yifan dived for the right goal hoop, and directly into the path of the ball. In a spectacular show of skill, instead of catching it he hit it with the heel of his hand and it soared through the air, directly into the arms of an approaching Gong Ming teammate.

The majority-East Sea crowd let out an audible groan at the wasted opportunity, but when everyone was seated again Jongdae lent in to Baekhyun and whispered, "You might want to pick your jaw up off the ground now."

"It wasn't on... I mean... What _do_ you mean?”

“You like their Keeper.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and focused on his food, and for the rest of the game he quietly endured rib-pokes from his (so-called) friend. The match ended with Yixing catching the snitch and Gong Ming winning, 180 points to 80.

While the others reluctantly packed away their rubbish and prepared to leave, Baekhyun watched the Chinese team celebrate in the air. Yifan was talking animatedly with his team mates, at times flying away to recreate certain plays in the game and earning their applause. It was the first time Baekhyun had seen him so happy.

Baekhyun was forced out of his reflections by Minseok approaching him and wiping the corner of his mouth.

“Cinnamon and crumbs. Such a messy child.”

Baekhyun attempted to reach the crumbs with his tongue, and Minseok withdrew his hand in order to avoid getting inadvertently licked.

“I _was_ going to invite all of you to the party the Gong Ming students are throwing down in the stables, but the maturity level of this group is...”

Minseok was cut off by Jongdae and Jongin throwing their arms around his shoulders and marching him (not particularly carefully) down the stairs to the stadium exit. Once on the ground they met up with some of the East Sea players and Minseok broke off to give commiseration to his friends on the team.

As soon as they arrived at the stables the heavens opened up and it began to rain. Though stables were spacious, everyone began to push to the back wall, not eager to get wet. A table of food and drinks had been set up, and the East Sea and Gong Ming players moved there immediately, all thoughts of the game vanished over their united feeling of being exhausted and starving.

Jongdae sat down with his back to a wooden beam and pulled Baekhyun down next to him.

“I don't fancy fighting for snacks and getting overrun by all that muscle.”

“But I'm still hungry.” Baekhyun whined. “Let's do rock paper scissors for who goes up there to get food.”

The two began to play, but best-of-three became best-of-five, and soon they were simply competing with how many times in a row they could make the same sign.

“Hey, Baekhyun! Did you enjoy the game?” Yixing flopped down on Baekhyun's other side, his forest green and black sports robes creasing under his crossed legs. Yixing placed a large plate of food in the middle of their little circle and without hesitation introduced himself to Jongdae.

Baekhyun was just about to stand up and get drinks, when a slightly quieter voice from behind asked him the same question.

“Did you enjoy the game?”

Yifan stood about two feet away, holding four cups of soft drink in his large hands. Baekhyun cleared the straw away from the floorboards and motioned for him to sit down.

“To be honest, I don't watch a lot of sport, but it was nice to get out of studying for a while.”

Yifan nodded and sat down next to him before putting the drinks carefully on the ground. Yixing and Jongdae (who had been deep in conversation about the finer points of the Gong Ming uniform) immediately reached out to take a cup each.

“Your team has good fliers. I... I was a bit overrun.” A light pink blush covered Yifan's nose and cheeks, making Baekhyun smile.

“You played well. Well, I think you played well. And you looked pretty happy at the end.”

Baekhyun reached out to take a drink at the same time as Yifan, but the Chinese boy not-so-subtly moved to pick up a steamed bun from the food plate. Baekhyun pretended not to notice.

“What were you studying for?” Yifan asked.

“Next week we have an assessment for Wand Magic. I'm guessing the exchange students won't have to do it, but... I just hope I do well.”

“When is the assessment?”

“Thursday. Same time as the last class. Why?”

Yifan didn't reply.

“Hey, Baekhyun.” Minseok tapped him on the shoulder. “Sorry to…..err….. interrupt,” Minseok looked meaningfully at Baekhyun, and Baekhyun just bared his teeth in an imitation of a smile.

“Yes, hyung?”

“The rain has stopped, so we should probably leave while we have the chance to avoid getting wet.”

Baekhyun stood up and dusted himself off while Minseok left to find Jongin. Yifan took something from the bottom of the plate of food, then stood up and held out a small paper-wrapped package.

“It's moon cake. The red bean kind. Just... something to eat while you study.”

“Thanks, Yifan.”

The tall boy's blush suddenly became darker, and though Baekhyun desperately wanted to poke and tease him about it, he realised he also wanted to put his hand gently to Yifan's cheeks. In the end though, Baekhyun wasn't brave enough to do either of those things.

“See you later. See you in Ethics on...”

“Tuesday,” Yifan said quickly.

Baekhyun held up the moon cake in thanks again, and turned to leave with his room mates. Sundays weren't normally this eventful, but, Baekhyun thought, at least it had been mostly good events.

 

\---

 

The sky cleared overnight and the week ahead was forecasted for uninterrupted sunny weather. Baekhyun passed by Yifan twice in the corridors on Monday, and each time he received a smile and half-a-wave. During dinner, while listening to Jongin tease Minseok about the undertones of all his extra Mermish study sessions with Lu Han, Baekhyun conceded to himself that he was _lucky_ not to have Jongdae at his side to tease him at all that day.

On Tuesday Baekhyun arrived on time for Ethics class, and was immediately told to form a group with Yifan, Yixing and the quiet Do Kyungsoo for a discussion on 'Creation Magic versus Transformational Magic'. It was a topic that Baekhyun felt very strongly about, and after the four students wrote down clear, concise arguments for both sides, it was decided they would argue in favour of the principles of Transformational Magic. Towards the end of the lesson when it was time to present, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun made the case that the Eastern tradition of magic encouraged a harnessing of the elements and emphasized the importance of transforming that which already exists. Baekhyun pressed the point further, stating that this theory was the underlying reason for the enormous breadth of knowledge for Healing and Remedies that had accumulated in the East, whereas many Western magical remedies often had side effects (such as pain, or smoke coming out of one's ears).

At the end of the presentation most of the students clapped politely, eager to finish the class and go to lunch.

“Case well made, gentlemen,” Professor Jeong said as he opened the door to dismiss the class.

“Byun Baekhyun, would you mind waiting here a moment, please?”

The other students filed out the classroom, and on his way past, Yifan placed his hand on Baekhyun's shoulder. The pressure was there, then it suddenly wasn't, and Baekhyun didn't have time to respond to Yifan's small smile and one raised eyebrow before he was out the door with Yixing and everyone else.

“This won't take long,” Professor Jeong began as he took a seat behind the teacher's desk. “I was just wondering if you had considered entering into the Young Minds debating competition.”

“The.. what, sir?”

“Young Minds. It's an international conference to encourage high school students to debate topics that are relevant to the magical world they will inherit.” Professor Jeong took out a small booklet from the desk drawer and handed it to Baekhyun. “I know you aren't exactly the favourite of all the teachers here, but in my class you have always listened well, and your contributions are consistently original, thoughtful and relevant.”

Baekhyun had always admired the fair way that the Ethics professor approached the teaching and assessments of his class, but he had not realised that he, Baekhyun, had actually shown any aptitude or _skill_ in Ethics.

“I advise you to read through the topics for this year, and think about if you would like to go. The competition is in Shanghai,” Baekhyun frowned when he heard this, realising that it would be unlikely his mother could afford to send him. “And of course,” Professor Jeong continued, “the school would provide financial assistance. We haven't sent any students for the last two years. After the wit and enthusiasm of Kim Jonghyun, my other students seemed a little... pale by comparison.”

Baekhyun looked down at the booklet in his hands, the light glinting off the embossed gold cover.

“Thank you sir. I will think about it.”

“Good. Now go eat.” Professor Jeong said, waving him away with a smile.

For the rest of the day, nothing interrupted Baekhyun's happiness – not the lukewarm soup at lunch, not Jongdae's whining about the Wand Magic test on Thursday, and not even Minseok's Mermish mumblings that continued late into the night.

\- - -

“Baekhyun, turn around. You've got a message.”

Jongdae hoisted his bag onto his back and pointed at the small piece of paper that was hovering over Baekhyun's left shoulder. It wasn't exactly common for students to send paper memos to each other (in an all-boys school there was always a high chance of the memos being snatched out of the air and forcibly read by prying eyes), and Baekhyun could see that his one had been attacked at least once already. Still, as he took it out of the air it opened cleanly for him, and the message itself had not obviously been tampered with. It was the end of the last class of the day and Baekhyun did _not_ want to be late for dinner, so with Jongdae at his side, he read the note as he walked quickly in the direction of the dining hall.

_Can you come to Study Room 105 in the library tonight? After dinner. Straight after dinner.  
Yifan_

 

Jongdae nosily leaned forward and read the note at the same time as Baekhyun.

“You guys are already having secret make-out sessions? Slave to hormones, you are.”

Baekhyun chased Jongdae all the way to the dining hall and was finally able to get his revenge by tipping his soup all over Jongdae's spicy chicken.

After dinner Baekhyun went to the library, a little nervous about exactly what Yifan wanted to meet him for. Through the glass door of Study Room 105 he could see Yifan scribbling away on a piece of parchment, his bag on the floor and a long black box on the table in front of him.

Baekhyun pushed all concerns out of his mind and turned the door handle.

“Hey, thanks for coming.” Yifan said as he immediately put his brush down.

“No worries. Have you eaten? I have some chocolate in my bag if you want it.”

Yifan shook his head. “I'm okay. Lu Han's gone to get us some dinner because we will be stuck here tonight.” Baekhyun adjusted the straps on his shoulder bag and looked at him quizzically. Yifan explained that the Chinese teachers had decided to give them a test the next day during the time when they would otherwise be at Wand Magic.

“Speaking of...” Yifan didn't finish his sentence, but simply picked up the black box on the table and held it out for Baekhyun to take.

Baekhyun knew what it might be. He knew what came in those boxes. But it was so unlikely...

He tried to keep his expression neutral as he lifted the lid off the box and removed the silk covering. It was a wand.

Yifan stood up and moved to stand next to him.

“My mother bought it for me the last time she went to Ollivander’s in England. I always just saw it as a souvenir because it never suited me, but I asked her to send it over because I thought maybe you could _actually_ use it.”

“Yifan I can't accept this. You can't gift me a wand!”

“We have to find out if it actually suits you first. If it is more effective than your current one, you can at least use it for the assessment tomorrow.”

Baekhyun held out the box to Yifan, gesturing that he should take it back, but Yifan stood his ground.

“Try it. Please.”

Yifan lifted the wand out of the box and then took the box from Baekhyun. Yifan's hands felt warm as he covered Baekhyun's right hand with his own, but when Yifan let go and the wand was in Baekhyun's hand, the warmth stayed.

“Okay then, here,” Yifan dragged his fingertips through the black ink in the tray on the table.

A simple spell to make something (in this case, the ink particles) move from one place to another. Baekhyun knew the theory, now he had to apply it. With a soft flick of his wrist and a two-syllable spell, the ink immediately vanished from Yifan's fingertips and followed Baekhyun's direction to gather again in the ink tray.

“Perfect!” Yifan held up his hands and showed that not even a trace of ink remained. “Now, what about Transfiguration?” Yifan took the purple silk out of the wand box, scrunched it up in his hands, and held it out in front of him.

“You can do it.”

Baekhyun took a deep breath and chose the animal that first came to mind. An animal more complex than a goldfish, but one that, nevertheless, he felt he _could_ create.

A moment later Yifan held in his hands a small bird with beautiful blue and purple plumage.

“Baekhyun, it's perfect. That wand is yours.”

Baekhyun was beyond surprised. After all his years of hard work, unrewarded effort, all the unfairness and bad luck, it was beyond magical how Yifan's presence had changed everything.

“Yifan, I've never been this lucky. This is...”

The bird flew out of Yifan's hands, landed on the top edge of his chair, and began to clean its feathers. When the bird began to fly up higher, landing comfortably on the ceiling beams, it went entirely unnoticed - Baekhyun had taken up all of Yifan's attention, and neither of them were aware of anything but the warmth of the other.

 

\---

 

The next day Baekhyun passed his Wand Magic assessment with flying colours (he managed to turn a box of mixed buttons into a green, red and yellow parakeet), and at lunch he told Professor Jeong that he would be happy to accept the place in the Young Minds challenge.

“I'm glad to hear that, Baekhyun. Tonight, after the farewell dinner for the Gong Ming students, please come to my office. There is some paperwork that has to be filled in as soon as possible, and we will have to organise a training schedule so that you can get used to the format of the debates.”

They weren't even staying the weekend? Baekhyun made a mental note about the meeting that night, said goodbye to his teacher, and hurried off to ask Minseok at the student's table if the Gong Ming students were really leaving so soon.

“Yes. Tomorrow, right after class. Lu Han told me that the ones who play Nogong have a game on Saturday morning, so they have to leave.”

Baekhyun slumped down in a chair, and though his stomach was growling he ate slowly. He tried to think of how, or even if at all, he could spend just a few minutes more with Yifan before he left. The spicy chicken left bright orange streaks through his rice bowl, and when he had finished eating, he glanced down in defeat.

But it wasn't defeat. The colours had given him an idea.

\---

At five fifteen the next morning Baekhyun was awake, fully dressed, and very nervous. He hoped that his memo to Yifan had got through the school corridors unharmed (he would be truly lucky if that were the case). Baekhyun quietly closed the door to his room and stepped out into the fresh morning air. Upon arriving at the stables just minutes later, all his worries dissipated – Yifan was standing there dressed in his shimmering white coat.

“It was really cold this morning, and this is the warmest thing I own,” Yifan said by way of explanation.

“Okay, I believe you,” Baekhyun said smiling and in a tone that clearly indicated the opposite. He motioned for Yifan to follow him and together, the boys walked to the edge of the paddock where just beyond the fence lay the edge of the cliff - and the vast and tranquil East Sea. The moon and stars were still out, but the sky had begun to lighten.

“Yifan, thank you so, so much for the wand. And for everything. I think...” Baekhyun had hoped that he could just speak honestly and show his gratitude, but being so close to Yifan, alone with him, and the prospect of not seeing him again for weeks, it was almost overwhelming.

Yifan took his hand, squeezed it, and waited for Baekhyun to continue.

“I just... I think you're intelligent, and kind, and generous. I'm just glad we met.”

The next moment Baekhyun felt Yifan's weight shift, and he was suddenly enveloped in a back hug with Yifan's long arms around his shoulders.

“I think the same about you. It was never easy for me to feel close to people. Then you, from across the seas, you turn up and somehow suddenly... inspire me?”

Baekhyun could feel Yifan's breath on his ear and the vibrations on his back as the taller laughed quietly. He put one hand over the two Yifan had clasped around his chest, and with the other, Baekhyun reached out to the horizon.

“Yifan, this your thank you present.”

Baekhyun extended his fingers, then slowly curled them into a fist. Across the sea the sun began to rise, and the bright orange light contrasted with the black sky and bright stars still above their heads. As the sun emerged Baekhyun slowly pulled more colours into the sunrise. Pinks and oranges fought for space with navy blues and purples in the sky. The moon hovered high above, refusing to leave even when all other traces of the night had been chased away.

Yifan held Baekhyun tighter and the two stood still, thinking of the future and knowing they were lucky to have found each other.


End file.
